The Ending of an Era
by NimueTheSorceress
Summary: Despite her injury, Morgana runs from the Camelot soldiers ransacking the Druid camp, taking Mordred with her, and Merlin is left to pay the price. Thirty suspected sorcerers, all trapped in Uther's dungeons, and sentenced to death unless Morgana returns. An Alternate Universe story, set after the Nightmare Begins.
1. Chapter 1

"The kidnappers of the Lady Morgana were worked of the consequences of their actions, but have not returned my ward to Camelot. For the love of my ward then, I am forced to carry out my threats."

_This can't be happening. There must be something I can do. _The young sorcerer looked on in despair as three suspected sorcerers were led out into the citadel square for no other crime than simple existence.

"Hang them." The king pronounced his verdict with such an emotionless finality, that Merlin hated him more than he had ever hated him before. What kind of man could sentence innocents without a second thought?

For an instant, Merlin nearly looked away, he was nearly that weak. But he forced himself to look on, to watch the deaths that _he_ was to blame for. After all, if he hadn't been so _stupid_ maybe he would have realised that the _Lady Morgana_ couldn't just disappear for a day, not like he could.

And before he knew it, it was over.

"Sorcerers," Uther pronounced, "It is you, not I, who has caused this. If the Lady Morgana is safely returned to Camelot, then I will spare the lives of the other sorcerers in our dungeons. If not, the deaths of thirty men and women will be on your hands."

He couldn't bear it anymore. He had to get out of here. He had to at least _try_ to help them.

"None of this would have happened if you'd only followed my advice, Merlin!"

"But I couldn't just leave her!"

"And now your own people will pay the price! How many more must you let die before you realise that wisdom comes with age, boy?"

"None! No one would die if you would just help me!" Why was it always so hard to get help from the Great Dragon? Couldn't Merlin get a straight, and useful answer from him, just this once?

"I am astonished that you feel the need to come to me, young warlock!" Kilgharrah snarled in response, "My advice is clearly meaningless to you! Certainly, I see no use of helping you when you cannot appreciate the value of my help, when you prefer to stumble your own way, taking many down with you!"

Merlin paced back and forth in a fury. "So you won't help me then?"

"Not when I can't-"

"Fine!" He turned on his heel and stormed away, without a second thought.

"_Merlin!_"

Perhaps Gaius sensed more than Merlin knew, because it felt like an age before he finally fell asleep that night. As silently as he could manage, Merlin moved about in a rush, collecting a few supplies and packing them, along with a change of clothes, and on a whim, his books of spells.

It was fairly simple after that. He barely had to think as he crept out of the room and towards the cells, avoiding guards practically on reflex. In fact, it wasn't until he reached the gates of the citadel with the suspected sorcerers that the alarm bells began to sound, and they made it all the way to the edge of the city before their pursuers caught up with them.

"Run! Just run!" Merlin shouted, chanting a quick incantation to prevent the gates from closing. "I'll hold them off, just get out of here!"

He turned back towards the rapidly approaching patrol, and threw his hands out in front of his instinctively. The knights flew back like they'd been pulled on a string, their heads making a sickening crunch as they collided with the walls of houses behind them. Merlin tried to focus on the matter at hand, rather than that awful sound…

"Alain! Roderick!" The rest of the patrol were too close behind them, and with no time to think, Merlin threw up a barrier of flames, scaring the horses backwards and giving him some more time. But with the stronger light filling the street, Merlin's eyes fell upon… Oh, it would be him, wouldn't it?

"M-Merlin? No, this can't be… No!" Merlin didn't think he could ever forget the look that crossed his old friend and master's face as he recognised his own manservant.

"Sorry, Arthur. But I couldn't just watch Uther murdering those people." And without a second thought, Merlin turned his back on his friend, and walked away from the home he loved.

**A/N- As promised, LittleMissThaliaGrace, the beginning of your Merlin fic :) To everyone in general, sorry this was kinda short. Hopefully the chapters will get longer. And please do tell me what you think! Reviews are wonderful, wonderful things, and certainly speed up the writing process!  
**


	2. Chapter 2

In a small cottage in a wood, just outside of a village in Caerleon, a dark-haired woman was scrubbing the floors, with great difficulty. There are some things you learn in the pampered life of a castle resident, but unfortunately cleaning was not one of them. Still, she'd accepted the change in her circumstances, and was determined to make the best of it. Which left her here. Scrubbing floors. Like a common servant.

Morgana threw her cloth into the bucket of water in disgust, and stretched. How on earth had Gwen managed to do this, and all of the other chores, day after day? It was awful!

Still, she felt fortunate she had this place at all. She'd been worried that selling her clothes and jewellery might arouse suspicion, but she'd gotten enough money to buy the little cottage, and more besides, without any difficulty. Of course, one day the money would finally run out, but by that time, she was hoping to have learn a few skills that would earn her some work.

"Morgana! Morgana!" A small boy burst into the house, a basket full of edible plants found in the woods on his arm.

"Mordred!" Morgana cried, standing quickly to shut the door and take the basket from him. "What if somebody had heard you shouting? You need to be more careful."

"Morgana, I heard him! Emrys is here, I know he is!"

The basket dropped from her hand as she spun back towards him. "Where? Did you talk? Is he alright?"

"No, but I know where he is! Follow me!" He grabbed her hand, pulling her out of the cottage. They ran together into the woods, weaving in and out of the trees, until Mordred stopped short and called out with his mind so loud that Morgana flinched.

"_Emrys!_" There was a pause, and then Mordred laughed, and pulled Morgana towards a river on their left. And there he was. A little more worn out than he'd used to be, but still the same old Merlin.

"Hello, Morgana."

"Merlin!" She smiled happily, "It feels like so long since we last saw each other. You've barely changed at all!"

"You have." He replied softly. "I barely recognise you, Morgana. What happened to Camelot's princess?"

She laughed, and there was a brief silence as the two stared at each other shyly, before Morgana suddenly remembered Mordred.

"Will you come back with us, Merlin? Mordred, run on ahead and start a fire going, will you?"

"Oh, I don't want to be any trouble-"

"You won't. I mean, well, you might even be helpful. I don't know the slightest thing about housekeeping!"

This got a laugh. " Okay then. I'll come, and I'll stay if you want me to."

"Merlin, I'd love to you. Come, the house is this way…" They started walking back the way she'd come, Mordred running on ahead.

For a few moments, they walked in silence, and then Merlin spoke. "How's it been for you, on your own with Mordred? It must be quite a change from life at Camelot."

"It's… different. Mordred's been a great help, but sometimes I wonder if I can really do this- live like this, I mean."

"You can still go back, if you wanted to. Uther hasn't stopped looking…"

"I know." She paused awkwardly, "No, I… I couldn't. I can't leave Mordred, and… and I don't _want_ to."

That ended the conversation for the rest of the walk, until they finally reached the cottage again. Morgana showed him inside, taking his pack from him and placing it on the floor. A small violet fire was burning in the hearth, and Mordred was already tidying up the food in the basket, setting it aside onto shelves. Morgana looked at the flames in astonishment, before turning back to look at Mordred's innocent expression, which nearly set her laughing.

"Mordred, I've told you before to stop doing that!"

"What's wrong?" Merlin smiled.

"He keeps using his magic to do the chores, but what if somebody saw you, Mordred?"

"Nobody comes out this far, Morgana!" was his moan in response.

"That's not the point!"

Merlin burst out laughing, and for a moment, Morgana looked at him in surprise before she joined in. Mordred just sighed noisily, and set some water to boil in a pot over the fire.

"Are you hungry, Merlin?" Morgana asked when they'd stopped.

"Starving."

"Good. Let's make some food then, and you can tell use about the last few months."

"No." Merlin's reply was so harsh that Morgana almost felt hurt for a moment. His whole demeanour had turned colder, but then he sighed, and smiled a little, and Merlin was back again. "Later. But tell me about you two first. How did you end up all the way out here?"

"Very well then, but you have to help us with the cooking while I talk, and I'm afraid it's not a very exciting story!" Morgana teased, in an effort to cover up her confusion. "After the attack on the druid camp, we found a few others who'd managed to escape too, and we banded together to form a new campsite, in a different wood. Mordred and I stayed with them for two months, and they taught me a little about magic, and cooking, and a few other things. But then one night I had another nightmare, and I knew we couldn't stay. I can't really explain why, or what my dream meant. It just gave me a bad feeling, and we left. Then we travelled a little, until we found this place here, where we've been nearly a month now, I believe."

By the end of her story, she and Merlin had finished chopping vegetables and preparing the meat, and Mordred was stirring it all in the pot while they sat beside him.

"You've been lucky." Merlin commented.

"Yes. Very," was Morgana's reply. "And now it's your turn. What happened to you?"

"Later." He left no leeway in his response, just a plain and simple 'no', and Morgana wondered what it was that was so bad, that he couldn't tell them about it.

**A/N- There we go then, the second chapter, as promised. Thank you so much for the amazing response to my first chapter. I don't think I've ever written something so popular! I hope you're all enjoying this, and please, please, please leave me a review to tell me what you think!**


	3. Chapter 3

"I don't suppose you heard about Arthur, all the way out here?"

"Arthur? Has something happened to him? He's alright, isn't he, Merlin?"

"Well… I guess that depends on what you mean by 'alright'…"

"Merlin, tell me!" Morgana stared in utter bewilderment as Merlin struggled to hold back his laughter.

"He's run off, eloped!"

"No! Not Arthur, he wouldn't!"

"Ssh!" They both turned to look at Mordred's bed suddenly, but he was deep asleep still. Muffling their giggles, they continued talking in hushed tones.

"He has, honestly! He's been officially disowned and everything!"

"Poor Arthur! But who was it? Gwen?"

Merlin's expression turned sober again for a moment. "No. Not Gwen… I guess that was never going to last… No, I hear that it's the Princess Vivian that Arthur's fallen for. She was in Camelot with her father for some treaty apparently, and when their fathers wouldn't hear of them being together, they ran off in the night."

"I can hardly believe it!" Morgana struggled to supress her laughter. "Arthur, eloping!"

"It could be worse! Did you hear about the troll queen?"

"Troll queen?"

"Uther married a troll! Well, a troll impersonating a lady, but still…"

It was too much for Morgana. She couldn't hold back her laughter any more, and once she was laughing, Merlin was too. Laughing like he hadn't laughing in a long, long time, but Morgana put that thought away for another time…

"'Gana?" Mordred muttered blearily from his bed. "Whasamatter?"

"Nothing, Mordred!" She called back to him. "Go back to sleep."

After that, Merlin and Morgana dropped into a peaceful silence, but Morgana hadn't forgotten his promise from earlier. She'd tried patience, but she was worried about Merlin, and the way he'd been behaving, with his strange mood swings, quite frankly it was scaring her. She'd never seen him like this before, and she wished that she never had. So, after hours of holding her concerns to herself, she finally broke and broached the subject.

"Merlin." She reached across to grab his hand. "Please, tell me what's going on? Let me help you, Merlin…"

For a moment, the two only stared at each other, but then Merlin nodded slowly. "Yes, you should know I guess… But if you hate me afterwards, well, I guess I wouldn't blame you…"

"You won't know unless you try me."

Merlin didn't reply to this immediately, but Morgana waited patiently, in the hope that she wouldn't be waiting much longer after these first few moments.

"It was hard, getting everyone away from Camelot. Arthur and his knights were close behind us the whole time, sometimes too close. I didn't have any choice, I had to try and hold them off… And the last time I saw Arthur, he-he said I'd killed them. But I swear, Morgana, I never meant to. Honestly. I was just trying to protect the others, I was!"

"Merlin, I believe you. It's fine!" She shuffled closer to him, resting her hand on his.

"As soon as I was sure they were safe, I decided to go home, to Ealdor. After all, where else was I supposed to go? And I was scared Arthur might try and go after… go after Mother… And-and… I don't even know how Uther did it! Ealdor, it isn't even in his kingdom! I thought she was safe from him at least!"

"Merlin, calm down! Just tell me what happened. Please…"

"Ealdor's gone. Burnt to the ground. Nothing left but ashes and dust." Merlin spat out in response, staring at nothing but his feet.

"She could have escaped though, couldn't she? The other villagers too?"

"I checked, Morgana. Mother… she- she's definitely dead. They made sure of it-" He broke off, struggling to hold back his tears.

"Oh, God…" She gripped his hand comfortingly.

"T-they said it was for- for 'c-consorting with sorcerers'. There were people trapped inside the buildings when they were burnt down, Morgana! They died, and it was all my fault! What kind of a warlock am I, if I couldn't even protect my own mother?"

"Merlin, this is not your fault, do you hear me? You cannot blame yourself for this! This was Uther's doing, not yours!"

He slumped forwards at her words, pushing his head into his hands. "I just- I don't know how to live with myself, Morgana… How am I supposed to keep going after this?"

She put her arm around his shoulders and leaned into him. "We'll find a way, Merlin. Together. Everything's going to be okay…"

The next morning, Mordred ran off into the woods to play, Morgana began to reattempt some of her chores, and Merlin… Merlin unpacked his things. They'd agreed it for certain that night- that whatever happened, Merlin was here to stay now, and that any challenges that would in all probability follow them, well they'd just have to face it together. Neither of them spoke of what happened during the night that day, nor for many of the days to follow, but something had changed in Merlin. Perhaps he wasn't the same carefree boy he had been in Camelot, but Morgana knew he'd been through too much to ever except that. Still, he was better, more friendly and relaxed, and less of the cold, terrifying Merlin they'd found in the woods.

He began to give her small lessons in magic, small things at first, to help her build up her strength, and then more useful things, to help around the house and make life generally easier. She even convinced him to give her lessons in defensive magic after a while.

And slowly, the three of them began to form their new life there, in that little cottage on the edge of the village, and Morgana could honestly thought she'd never been happier, though there were still parts of her old life that she missed. But if she ever expected things to get better than they were for her at that point in time, she was completely and utterly wrong…

**A/N- So, first things first, sorry this chapter was so long in the coming. I started Sixth Form a few weeks ago and I honestly wasn't expecting the workload to be such a massive change from secondary school as it has been. But I'm determined to actually finish this story, one way or another, so bear with me, please! Thanks again for the follows and everything, and please, please, please tell me what you think!**


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